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Cruising Wilsons
 Bob
and Carolyn Wilson, aboard Sea Island Girl, continue Lakeside’s long
running series of cruising adventures which began in the mid-1990s.
To date we’ve had the Johnston family, Jean and Bill Bayman, and
Mechelle and Bill Cooksey all contribute to the series. Bob and
Carolyn boated on Lanier until leaving for their adventure in 2002.
There’s a little ‘artist’ in all
of us
A Sunday morning television show recently aired a
segment about an up and coming artist. Like their work, many of the
artists were being proclaimed as being outstanding, and praised
highly for their creativity. Personally, I found their work somewhat
mundane and switched the channel wondering what I was missing. But
then again it is often said, that “art is in the eye of the
beholder.”
Have you ever listened to some of these artists
describe their work? Generally speaking, I find that many of those
with a bent toward the more abstract modern arts tend to be a
little-off the path of realism themselves. Yet the more quiet and
meditative types tend to create work that soothe the soul. And once
in a while a new artist or art form comes along as a total surprise.
Last winter, while in the Bahamas, a group of the
boating wives, or “admirals” as they are affectionately referred,
became bored with their day-in, day-out life aboard the boat. The
cold weather and high winds had everyone pretty much pinned to the
dock in Marsh Harbour, and these restless souls looked for a way to
release all of that built-up energy.
 Sidonia
St. Germaine, of Hobart, WA was our dockside neighbor. She had been
passing time away weaving baskets. She was using pine straw which
she had gathered around the marina property, and laced her creation
with raffia, another natural material which she purchased from a
local craft shop. Being mid-way down the dock it was not long before
other wives observed her winding away the hours with the baskets. It
did not take long before others were combing the property in search
of pine straw and organizing a weekly basket weaving class.
Prior to this no one would have imagined that any of
them had an artistic bone in their body. In their previous life most
had been teachers, nurses, small business owners or administrators;
others were stay at home moms involved with their families and
community.
To the chagrin of some, I sat in on the class a
couple of times out of curiosity. By the third or fourth week a
competitive spirit arose. Individual creativity was rampant and as
classes expanded, weekly scavenger hunts were organized to locate
the “best and longest” pine needles on the island.
The newly discovered art form became addictive. Small
groups would gather to share techniques. Individual artists could
show off the latest basket design. Some were creatively
incorporating beads or sea pod beans, and even the colorful Androsia
fabrics into their artwork. As for the Captains, re-heated leftovers
soon became the norm for the evening meal.
 After
a month or so, with no demonstrable change in the weather, the
Captains were becoming a little antsy as well. A few decided to
demonstrate their creative side. Wink Thornton, who had immersed
himself in rock collecting the previous year, surprised everyone by
designing and creating jewelry. Now Wink can be best described as
being a “man’s man.” Unlike pro footballer Rosie Greer, who was
known for his cross-stitching, he’s not someone that would sit
through a basket weaving class. Wink began working with sea glass he
would find while walking the white sand beaches. He then encased the
glass with silver and gold. By April he was designing and creating
necklaces, bracelets and rings that became so popular he would find
himself working well into the early morning hours, just to keep up
with demand.
Fastidious Ray Vallerie, who in years past would
spend hours polishing the stainless bolts on his enormous CAT diesel
engines soon discovered he needed a project to pass the time while
his wife Susan was busily creating her first pine-straw basket.
The two of them live aboard Last Dance, a 60-foot sports-fishing
boat, and Ray decided to create a scale model of their boat from
pieces of wood and metal that he salvaged from around the resort. He
carefully measured each section of Last Dance and would sit in his
cockpit for hours sawing, trimming or gluing his masterpiece. The
project took three months to complete, and it was truly a
masterpiece. I remember asking Ray about his plans for the finished
product, and he nonchalantly said “Oh, I’ll put it on a shelf
somewhere.”
I guess all of this shows that there is a degree of
artistic creativity and talent in all of us. Completing a project
can take a lot of time and patience, something that can be a
challenge for some. Basket weaving was a bit intense for me. I kept
sticking my fingers with the needle while weaving the raffia around
the prickly pine-straw and I soon changed my basket design so that
it became a coaster for a relaxing rum drink.
As the winter cruising season was ending, we held an
art show to give everyone an opportunity to share their newly
created pieces of art. There were the pine-straw baskets of every
shape and color; watercolor paintings, and of course Wink’s jewelry
and Ray’s wooden model. The most interesting revelation was that
these were all new-found artists. With the exception of Sidonia,
none of the artists had prior experience with their craft.
So, the next time you rake the pine-straw, or pick up
shells or sea glass along the beach, you might consider creating a
project of your own, because as you will soon learn, there is some
degree of talent in all of us.
Until next time,
– Bob & Carolyn Wilson
Visit the Wilson's 'blog site' at
www.cruisingwilson.blogspot.com.
Email the Wilsons at:
cruiswils@earthlink.net
or
wilsons@lakesidenews.com.
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